Everybody’s Boat Show! Coleman Celebrate the Best of the Poole Harbour Boat Show.

The Coleman Group enjoyed their presence at the Poole Harbour Boat Show, which took place over the weekend of 20th – 22nd May at Poole Quay, and took the opportunity to meet and chat with clients, exhibitors and visitors. The Boat Show, which is in its second year, and enjoying an ever growing reputation amongst not only locals but also the marine industry, attracted large crowds despite the inclement weather.

Coleman’s Manager of Yacht & Commercial Craft, Tony Pauffley advised, “It’s really good to see that the Boat Show has grown from where it was last year – there are more stands and more boats. “

Tony, who has been involved in the organisation of the Poole Harbour Boat Show for the last two years continued, “The organisers are really proud of what we have achieved and delighted that the Boat Show is being talked about by many and gaining the excellent reputation and presence that it truly deserves, it’s in a good place. This is particularly satisfying in the run-up to the European Maritime Event, which Poole will be hosting in 2017 – this event will be a real showcase to the rest of Europe of what the UK marine industry has to offer. Coleman Insurance Brokers are delighted to be an integral part of this.”

Poole Life Boat Station

Tony chatted with Poole Life Boat Station Crew who are based in Poole on the Quay and all live locally. Crew member Neil Seconi, who has been a volunteer for 8 years, talked about the all-weather lifeboat that was being showcased at the boat show, along with the In-Shore lifeboat, and updated Tony on the role of the crew who he informed are all volunteers, with just one paid member of staff who is a mechanic.

Neil advised, “The lifeboat goes out on exercise once a week. We’ve been quiet on emergencies recently, but during this last week we have been really busy with 7 shouts. We’ve had broken down boats, incidents with kayakers and have rescued a fishing boat which got lost in the fog and ended up on Brownsea Island! This week alone we have life saved 3 people who had fallen into the water. So far this year we have had a total of 20 call outs.”

Nine year old Elliot from Poole took time to step on board the life boat and enthused, “It’s awesome! I’ve never been on a life boat before nor have I ever actually seen one, I know all about the rescues that they do though!”

Boat Show visitors

On the Pontoon, Tony met various visitors, including Andy and Gale Mold who were visiting from Amersham. They enthused, “We have come to Poole especially for the Boat Show. We didn’t come last year as we were at the BMYS Show at Swanwick but we heard excellent feedback about the Poole Harbour Boat Show and wanted to come and see it for ourselves. We are boat owners and keep our motor boat in Lymington. We’re really enjoying the boat show as it has easy access to the boats, it’s a very relaxed and friendly atmosphere and we’ve bumped in to lots of boating friends that we know. It’s even better now that it’s stopped raining and the sun looks like it could come out! We are hugely impressed with the excellent trade stands too.”

Dorset Police Marine Section

Dorset Police Marine Section had a strong presence at the Show and brought along their marine boat. Police Constable, Bruce Murdoch commented, “We do the same job on the water as our fellow officers do on the land. A lot of it is intelligence led and we receive information from various different sources but mainly from the general public. The main issue that we are facing at the moment is human trafficking. There have been many incidents where boats have been stolen from the French coastline and follow ferries across the Channel to Dover. The boat thieves generally have no sailing knowledge and no safety gear – they are desperate to get across to land in the UK. Our role is to protect the coastline and to uphold the law and ensure safety for everyone involved.”

PC Murdoch continued, “We also work with the RNLI, Boarder Agency, Coast Guard and the Royal Navy. Multi agencies work together to keep the coastline safe.”

Sunseeker

Colin Rowles who works for Sunseeker Poole was busy showing around inquisitive visitors who queued to board the Sunseeker 68 Sport Yacht which was showcased in Poole Quay. Colin said, “We’ve enjoyed welcoming a steady stream of visitors to the Boat Show. There has been a real cross-section of visitors, including existing clients, sales prospects and people who just want to come have a look around. We never turn anyone away. It’s a great show!”

In the Sunseeker queue were Steve, Shirley and Jasmine Randall who are Sunseeker boat owners. They commented, “We’ve come up for the Boat Show from Bodmin in Cornwall. We visited the very first Poole Harbour Boat Show last year and enjoyed it so much that we decided to come back! It’s good to see that it’s even bigger and better than last year with more stalls and boats.”

Sealine

Chris Manners from Sealine, who are based in Hamble and on the Thames, was on hand to chat with the many visitors and remarked, “At last year’s show we had just 2 boats. As it was such a good show we decided to bring along 4 of our boats to showcase this year. There’s a great boating fraternity here and it’s certainly a very successful Show.”

Young enthusiasts from far and wide

Visitors came from far and wide for the Boat Show. Determined to enjoy themselves, despite the rain, were five year old James and his 15 month old brother Henry who were visiting with their father Mike from Storrington, near Brighton.

Mike advised, “I am a member of a boat club but not currently a boat owner. We are really enjoying having a look at all the boats out on the pontoons.”

James added keenly, “It’s really good. I love boats, particularly the motor boats!” James and Lavinia Trueman and their 15 month old daughter, Sapphire, were visiting from Nottingham and Lavinia advised, “We feel very lucky that our visit coincided with the Poole Harbour Boat Show. Sapphire has had a wonderful time spotting the numerous boat displays on the quayside, there has been so much to see and enjoy. Our morning was topped off with delicious, traditional fish and chips for lunch…perfect for the occasion!”